Humanism...

 

 

 

 

ISSN: 2338-2635; e-ISSN: 2798-1371

 

THE USE OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY

IN SONGS’ LYRICS

 

 

Gunawan Tambunsaribu¹, Bob Morison Sigalingging²

 

¹ English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Letters and Languages, Universitas Kristen Indonesia

² English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Politics and Social Science, Universitas Bangka Belitung.

 

Email: gunawan.tambunsaribu@uki.ac.id*; bob-morison@ubb.ac.id

 

 

Abstrak

Dalam karya sastra, sebagian besar pengarang mengungkapkan perasaannya dengan menggunakan bahasa kiasan. Bahasa yang digunakan dalam karya sastra biasanya mewakili perasaan dan pemikiran tokohnya secara tersurat maupun tersirat. Seseorang mungkin menggunakan bahasa kiasan untuk menciptakan komunikasi yang unik dan estetis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui penggunaan bahasa kiasan dan perumpamaan yang terdapat pada dua lagu dari album Bruno Mars yang berjudul “Talking to the Moon” dan “It Will Rain”. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa bahasa kiasan dan gambaran yang terdapat pada lirik lagu pilihan Bruno Mars mewakili perasaan dan ekspresi penulis yang disampaikan secara tidak langsung. Penelitian ini menemukan beberapa bahasa kiasan dalam lagu pilihan Bruno Mars. Bahasa kiasan yang paling banyak digunakan oleh pengarang dalam lirik lagu-lagu Bruno Mars adalah “Hiperbola” yang menyatakan sesuatu secara berlebihan. Bahasa kiasan ini seirng digunakan untuk menekankan suatu ekspresi. Penulis menggunakan hiperbola untuk membuat lirik lebih menarik bagi pendengar. Dua lagu ini menggunakan berbagai macam bahasa kiasan dan perumpamaan. Dalam karya sastra, seorang pengarang menggunakan bahasa kiasan sebagai cara untuk mengungkapkan dan menekankan unsur perasaan, emosi, dan pengalaman manusia. Dengan menggunakan bahasa kiasan dan perumpamaan, pembaca dapat memahami dan membayangkan tujuan dari si penulis karya.

Kata kunci: bahasa kiasan, perumpamaan, lirik lagu, karya sastra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

 

In literary works, most authors express their feelings by using figurative language in their writing.  The languages used in literary works usually represent the explicit and implicit feelings and thoughts of their characters. Someone may use figurative language to create unique and aesthetic communication. This study aims to find out the use of figurative language and imagery found in the two songs from Bruno Mars’ album entitled "Talking to the Moon” and “It Will Rain”. This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. This research showed that figurative language and imagery found in Bruno Mars’ selected song lyrics represented the author’s feelings and expressions delivered indirectly. Based on research findings, the writer found some figurative language in Bruno Mars’ selected songs. The most figurative language used in the lyrics of Bruno Mars’ selected songs is “Hyperbole”. This is usually used to emphasize human expression. The writer used hyperbole to make the lyrics more interesting to the listeners. In conclusion, these two songs use many kinds of figurative language and imagery. In literature, a writer uses figurative language as a tool to express and emphasize the elements of feeling, emotion, and experiences of human beings. By using figurative language and imagery, the reader can understand and imagine the aim of the writer.

 

Keywords:      figurative language, imagery, song lyrics, literary work

 

 

1.   Introduction

 

Literature is the study of language in the form of art. Language is a means of communication. Language is one of the crucial tools for human beings to communicate with one another. Without language, people will never be able to communicate with one another. People need language to communicate, interact, and get information from others. That also can be a medium to express a human’s feelings. Through language, people can express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Hornby (1987) states that language is a human and non-intensive method of communicating ideas, feelings, and desires utilizing a system of sounds and sound symbols. In literary works, most authors express their feelings by using figurative language in their writing.  The languages used in literary works usually represent the explicit and implicit feelings and thoughts of their characters. Someone may use figurative language to create unique and aesthetic communication because figurative language contains a wide range of expressions on utterance types such as idioms, metaphors, jokes, irony, sarcasm, hyperbole, indirect request, and stereotyped expressions such as cliches (Handayani, 2022).

In learning and understanding language, people do not only understand the form of language but also the meaning of it. There are many ways for people to do and deliver their ideas to other people so that people can understand their minds. One of the ways is putting the thought by writing it into literary works for instance poems which can be used as song lyrics. Many people figure out their ideas and feelings into a song. A song is a composition of voice performed by a singer or by a musical instrument. There are many messages delivered in a song. Through song, people can convey his voice to many people, so that people can know his feelings and ideas. Currently, many songs can express our feelings, such as songs with themes of love, social, political, and others. In this time, people can speak to others through song. It means that the song can be used as a way to deliver ideas and feelings so that people can understand what the composer means.

A songwriter may write a song lyric based on their experiences in other words. The meaning of the lyrics is also an expression of something that has been seen, heard, or experienced by the poet or the songwriter. Therefore, by using a song the songwriters try to communicate with the listeners about something in their mind because a song has the power to influence its listeners through beautiful lyrics so that the listeners would love to sing it.         The song is a kind of literature works. Sometimes, some people find it difficult to understand the meaning of a song because the lyrics contain figurative language. It means that we cannot take the meaning of the lyrics by only translating them literally. A songwriter usually puts the meaning implicitly. In the attempt to understand the meaning of what a songwriter means in the song, a piece of further knowledge is needed. A song has strengths and weaknesses. A song usually has beautiful lyrics so that the listeners will enjoy singing it. While enjoying the lyrics, the listeners also can get the message that the songwriter wants to tell. In writing a song, the songwriter is usually influenced by feeling around or themselves. Each songwriter has their style in making a song.

There are various ways for someone to express his ideas as well as his expressions and ideas to others. One of them is by writing literary works. Through writing a song or a poem, someone can pour his feelings and ideas (Nurcitrawati at al., 2019). To attract the listeners' attention, most songwriters use figurative language.  Figurative language which used to give special effects by introducing and comparing an object or certain matter. For example: “I’d climb every mountain and swim every ocean” describes an exaggerated song lyric, which means nobody could do that thing. Perrine (cited by Cahyaningrum & Wandasari, 2023) stated that “figurative language is the language using … defined a figure of speech in any way of saying something other than the ordinary way.”. From the explanation above, it is concluded that figurative language is a tool to express through a special language that shows the soul and the songwriter's personality. Sugiyono (2013) states that in to understand literary work, such as poems and songs, someone has to understand the meaning not only by understanding the form of language and pronunciation of the language used by the author. 

 

Previous Research

There have been several researchers who conducted some research on the topic of figurative language. Aziza (2022) had her research analysis from the song’s album and focused only on the kinds of figurative language found in the album, whereas this recent research focuses on the imagery of the figurative language. Azmi et al. (2023) took their research data from BBC Learning English, not from songs, whereas this recent research takes its data from two songs. Masruri (2011), who also took figurative language as his research topic, focused his analysis on figurative language in Westlife’s selected songs called “Hyperbole”. He found that the song had a great exaggeration to emphasize a point and contained expressive or comic effects. Whereas, this current research used the different songs as his research data and focused on the discussion of figurative language and imagery. The difference between this recent study and the previous study conducted by Masrusi is the implementation of figurative language in literature works.

To attract the listener’s focus, imagery usage is very important because imagery is one of the elements of poetry that assist authors in expressing what they feel through the human sense. According to Burton (1974), “imagery in poetry is an appeal to the sense through words. Through the senses the emotions and intellect of listener can be swiftly stirred; consequently, poetry makes much use of imagery”. From the explanation above it is concluded that the listener can imagine what the writer hears, holds, and feels, and understand objectively every word.

 

2.   Literature Review

Lyrics of Poetry

Lyric poetry expresses the personal emotions or thoughts of the speaker, just like the songs of today. Also, just like songs, lyric poems always have a musical quality or a specific melody which makes it easy for people to sing along with. Lyric poetry, for the most part, is short and written in first-person point of view. There is always some specific mood or emotion being expressed. Often that mood is about the extremes in life, mostly love or death or some other intense emotional experience. No matter the theme, though, all lyric poems are known for brevity, emotional intensity, and musical quality. The genre of poetry is divided into two categories. Those are narrative and lyric poetry. Narrative poems, emphasize telling story, and lyric poems, emphasize expressing feeling through the song. It is similar to what DiYanni (2002) stated that is “The lyric is more a poetic manner than a form; it is more variable and less subject to strict convention than narrative poetry”. She stated that the song’s lyric usually uses simple words but they have more feeling and meaning. She also described that “Lyric poetry is typically characterized by brevity, melody, and emotional intensity. The music of lyrics makes them memorable, and their brevity contributes to the intensity of their emotional expression”. Based on the statement above, lyric poetry is used by the author to be a medium to convey and express what they feel and experience. The music of the lyrics makes them show all expression.

 

Figurative Language

Figurative language uses figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive, and impactful. Figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, and allusions go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give readers new insights. On the other hand, alliterations, imageries, or onomatopoeias are figurative devices that appeal to the senses of the readers. It can also be said as another way of adding an extra dimension of language, that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from literal interpretation giving that impact of meaning. The writer uses figurative language to make their work more interesting or more dramatic than literal language which simply states facts.

 

According to Knickerbocker & Reninger (1963), figurative language is embedded within and intimately connected to our cultures, behaviors, and models of the world. The figurative language contains images used in a particular way to explore rather than to know. It can be a special repetition, arrangement, or mission of words with lexical meaning or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the word. Figurative language gives deeper meaning to the text of literary works and it can emphasize the meaning. It also can make the sentence more alive and impressive to the readers (Astina et al., 2021). Rosa (2013) also stated that figurative language is the language that cannot be taken literally and says something other than ordinary ways or says one thing and its meaning is different from the primary meaning of the words. Figurative language is often used in daily communication, in literary works (such as novels, poems, songs, and short stories), in speech, and also in an advertisement. There are many types of figurative language (Keraf, 2009). They are personification, metaphor, alliteration, hyperbole, irony, litotes, metonymy, paradox, synecdoche, allegory, euphemism, repetition, cynicism, sarcasm, and imagery.

a. Simile

A simile is a comparison that explicitly implies something one to another. It shows the effort that explicitly shows the similarities are such words, same, as, as if, like, etc. Meanwhile, Perrine (1992) stated that simile is the explicit comparison of two things, indicated by the word or phrase such as like, as, than, similar, resemble, or seems. In addition, Abrams (2018) states that a simile is a comparison between two distinctly different things explicitly indicated by the word "like" or "as". For example, “Lydia’s style as funny as a barrel of monkeys.” This sentence said that compare Lydia’s style with a barrel of monkeys. This sentence also used the phrase “as …as”, a simile characteristic.

b. Personification

Keraf (2009) stated that personification is a figurative language that describes inanimate objects or lifeless objects as if they have human traits. It means that personification is a kind of style of figurative language depicting inanimate objects or goods that do not animate as if it has the properties of human nature. In addition, Abrams (1999) says that personification, in the Greek term called “prosopopeia”, is an abstract concept that is spoken of as though it were endowed with life or with human attributes or feelings. For example: “Talking to the moon tryin’ to get to you”.  The sentence includes the word "moon" which is talking. Talking is an action performed by an object or a human life, but in the quote, performed by inanimate objects.

c. Metaphor

According to Keraf (2009) tells metaphor is a kind of analogy that compares two things directly, but in a brief form. Metaphors as direct comparisons do not use the word: as, tubs, like, and so on, so that the first principle is directly connected with the principal second fact. Process the same as a simile but gradually equations and basic information about the first eliminated. A metaphor is a word or expression that in literal usage denotes one kind of thing and is applied to a distinctly different kind of thing, without asserting a comparison (Abrams, 1999). For example: He has a heart of stone. In the example above, there is a comparison between him and a human with a heart of stone.

d. Alliteration

According to Abrams (2018) says that alliteration is the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words. The term is usually applied only to consonants, and only when the recurrent sound begins a word or a stressed syllable within a word. For example, “Wide-eyed and wondering while we wait for others to waken.” The sentence above uses words that have the same consonants pronounced repeatedly. The first word in this sentence begins with the alphabet of “W”, and the next words also use it. 

e. Hyperbole

Keraf (2009) says that "Hyperbole is a type of style that contains excess, exaggerates something". It means that there is a kind of style that contains overstatement, to exaggerate something. Meanwhile, Tarigan (1985) states that hyperbole is a style that expresses something over what is intended. It means that hyperbole is the style that reveals something related to what it means. For example, “Her voice was shrill so solve our ear.” This statement is an overstatement. The statement said that the voice of a woman is shrill so people’s ears will be solved.

f. Irony

Irony is using words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation's meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea (Barnet et al., 1963). For example, someone says to his friend “You are very slim.” whereas the fact is that his friend is very fat. This spoken sentence was contrary to the fact.

g. Litotes

Litotes emphasizes the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite (Lingga, 2006). For example: “Gosh there's not much money there”. That sentence means there is money or it can be wealth.

h. Metonymy

In metonymy, something is named that replaces something closely related to it. Metonymy is also the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it, such as describing someone’s clothing to characterize the individual (Barnet et al., 1963). For example: “The kettle is boiling.” The “kettle” is used in a figurative sense which means “water”.

i. Paradox

Paradox is a term in rhetoric for a situation or statement that is or seems self-contradictory and even absurd but may contain an insight into life (McArthur at al., 2018). For example: “Nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded”. That sentence means that the restaurant is quiet.

j. Synecdoche

It is the whole is replaced by the part or the part by the whole (Barnet et al., 1963).  For example: “I won’t let him come under my roof.” The sentence above means “I won’t let him come to my house.”

k. Allegory

Allegory is the expression using symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence. For example: “Husband is captain in the household.” The “captain” means the family leader.

l. Euphemism

Euphemism is a language style that replaces words that are considered less good with a more subtle equivalent. For example: “Each university and company are required to accept diffable.” The word “diffable” in the sentence is a replacement for the word “disabled person”.

m. Repetition

This language style repeats words in a sentence. For example: “He was the culprit, he stole it, he took my shirt.” The sentence above repeats the word “he” three times.

n. Cynicism

Cynicism is a confession to subtle allusions. For example: “Your voice is so loud that makes my ears buzzed and hurt.”

o. Sarcasm

Sarcasm expresses something sarcastically. For example: “You are just scumbag!”

p. Imagery

Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. Imagery is a combination of words that we use to create pictures not only of the visual sense but emotion also sensation. Imagery may be defined as the representation through language of sense experience. Poetry appeals directly to our senses, of course through its music and rhythm, which we hear when it is read aloud. According to Gerard A. Hauser, we use imagery in speech and writing "not only to beautify but also to create relationships that give new meaning" (Hauser, 2002).

DiYanni (2002) stated that “An image is a concrete representation of sense impression, feeling, or idea. Images appeal to one or more of our senses. Images may be visual (something seen), aural (something heard, tactile (something felt), olfactory (something smelled), or gustatory (something tasted).” The explanation above tells us that images are often identical to sights, sounds, and touch. It interprets an image with a sensory experience. There are five (5) kinds of imagery, they are visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory imagery (DiYanni, 2002). However, Kennedy (2005) added two (2) more imageries namely kinesthetic and organic imagery. Overall, there are seven types of imagery.

a. Visual Imagery

Visual imagery appeals to the sense of sight and plays the largest role in imagery in literature. It describes what a scene or character looks like. Patel and Chirag (2014) stated that visual imagery gives the reader an ability or form mental images of things or even imagery, the ability to form mental images of things or events in the poem. It represents the sense of sight or something that can be seen. The example below is the poem’s line of William Shakespeare’s titled “A Fairy Song.” Poem’s line: “In their gold coats spots you see”. The word “see” here means that there are people who wear gold coats.

b. Auditory Imagery

Auditory imagery relates to sounds, noises, music, sense of hearing, or words that relate to the sounds that imitate the real sounds in the form of onomatopoeia. According to Patel (2014), auditory imagery is a kind of imagery that represents sounds. Auditory imagery uses description to convey sounds to the reader.” It represents the sense of sound or something you can hear. The example below is the poem’s line of Robert Browning’s entitled “Meeting at Night”. Poem’s line: “And a voice less loud.” The words “voice” and “loud” are included in auditory imagery because they represent kinds of sounds. The author said that he heard a voice less loud at night.

c. Tactile Imagery

Tactile imagery concerns about physical touches, textures, or the sense of touch. Tactile imagery, according to DiYanni (2002), is something we can feel.  It represents sensations of touch such as hardness, softness, wetness, hotness, and coldness. The example below is the poem’s line of Tess Gallagher’s entitled “The Hug”. Poem’s line: “Hug him like I meant it. He’s got an overcoat on so thick I can’t feel.” The word “thick” means that he is wearing a thick jacket but he does not feel it.

d. Olfactory Imagery

Olfactory imagery concerns about aromas, smells, odors, scents, or the sense of smell. Olfactory imagery, according to DiYanni (2002), is something that we can smell. It represents something we smell.  The example below is the poem’s line of Theodore Roethke’s entitled “My Papa Waltz.”. The poem’s line: “The whiskey on your breath.” The word “breath” describes the smell of whiskey that the author smelled from his father’s breath.

e. Gustatory Imagery

Gustatory imagery pertains to tastes, flavors, palates, or the sense of taste. Gustatory imagery, according to DiYanni (2002), is something we can taste. It represents something that we can taste. The example below is the poem’s line of William Wordsworth’s entitled “She was a phantom of delight” (1770-1850). The poem’s line: “Sweet records, promises as sweet.” The word “sweet” means the sweet memories of wonderful taste as sweet as sugar.

f. Kinesthetic Imagery

Kinesthetic imagery pertains to the movements or the sense of bodily motion. According to Patel (2014), he states that “Kinesthetic imagery is a broad term that is used to describe various emotions.” It includes the sense of touch, movement, feeling and temperature, internal emotions, and physical interactions. This refers to the external movement or the tension of the speaker in the poem. In other words, it describes outside movement or tension. The example below is the poem’s line of Robert Frost’s entitled “Bereft” (1874-1963). The poem’s line: “Blindly struck at my knee and missed.” The word “knee” means the movement of the knee when he got stuck.

g. Organic Imagery

Organic imagery (subjective imagery) is the personal experiences of a character's physique or body including emotion and the senses of hunger, thirst, fatigue, sickness, agony, and pain. According to Kennedy (2005), organic imagery is something that we feel. It represents internal sensations such as hunger, thirst, anger, fear, or fatigue. The example below is the poem’s line of William Blake’s entitled “A Poison Tree.” The poem’s line: “I told my wrath; my wrath did end.” The word “knee” means the movement of the knee when he got stuck. The word “wrath” here means is expression of feelings.

 

3.   Research Method

 

This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. The writer applies the descriptive qualitative method.

Data Source

            Most songwriter create songs with lyrics based on their experiences or their imagination. One of the songwriters and also a singer, Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and dancer. Bruno Mars started his career in 2006, he was acquainted with Aaron Bay Schuck, who later became his manager and offered a contract under "Atlantic Records" in 2009. Bruno Mars rose to fame in 2010 with the release of the successful singles "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, both of which featured his vocals on the hooks.  Bruno Mars has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has released seven number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since his career launched in 2010, attaining his first five faster than any male artist since Elvis Presley. Bruno Mars has received various awards and nominations, including 11 Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three Guinness World Records, and nine American Music Awards. He has appeared in Time's World (2011) and Forbes' Lists of 30 under 30 (2013), the World's Most Powerful Celebrities (2014), and Celebrity 100 (2018).            The song lyrics of Bruno Mars one of the famous American singers reflect his experiences, feelings, and emotions in his songs’ lyrics using figurative language and imagery. Therefore, the writer chooses the figurative language and imagery used in Bruno Mars’ song lyrics as the topic of this research.

 

Research Problems

Based on the background of the study, the researcher formulates the statements of the problem, they are 1) What types of figurative language are used in Bruno Mars' song lyrics? 2) What kinds of imagery are found in the song lyrics of Bruno Mars? and 3) What is the possible meaning of the figurative language and imagery in Bruno Mars's song lyrics?

 

Research Aims

The aims of this research are 1) to identify the figurative language in Bruno Mars's song lyrics; 2) to review the meanings of imagery found in Bruno Mars's song lyrics; and 3) to describe the possible meanings of figurative language and imagery. This study can be used as a data source in explaining the kinds of figurative language and imagery that are contained in selected song lyrics. This also can be used as material for learning about figurative language and imagery. This research can be used as reading material for students who want to study more about figurative language and imagery.

 

Scope and Limitation

The scope of this study is one of the intrinsic elements of poetry, imagery, and figurative language. It focused on identifying the types of figurative language and imagery and also interpreting the meaning of figurative language and imagery of the lyrics from Bruno Mars. The limitation of the study is the song lyrics from Bruno Mars namely “Talking to The Moon” released on April 25, 2011, and “It Will Rain” released on September 27, 2011.

 

In collecting the data for these two songs, the researcher did some steps, namely: a) selecting the two song lyrics from Bruno Mars, b) reading the lyrics of the selected songs, c) identifying the figurative language and imagery from two selected songs, 4) categorizing the imagery kinds of the figurative language found in the two songs’ lyrics, and analyzing the data using thematic analysis.

 

4.   Results and Discussion

 

4.1 Results

 

In this chapter, the writer shows the two tables containing figurative language and imagery found in the lyrics of two of Bruno Mars’ songs “Talking to the Moon” and “It Will Rain”. The findings were presented in the tables below including the analysis of each data. The readers will see the analysis of each data below the table. The analysis contains the description of each data based on the kind of figurative language, kinds of imagery, and added by the meaning of the figurative language. The tables below are the kinds of figurative language and imagery found in the two selected songs from Bruno Mars’ album.

Table 1. Figurative Language and Imagery in the song entitled “Talking to the Moon”

Line	Data	Figurative Language	Imagery
5	My neighbors think I’m crazy	hyperbole	Organic
9	At night when the stars light up my room	personification	Visual
11	Talking to the moon	personification	Auditory
15	Or am I a fool	euphemism	Organic
18	I’m feeling like I’m famous.	simile	Organic
21	I’ve gone mad	euphemism	Organic
23	Cause when the sun goes down	metaphor	Visual

 

Table 2. Figurative Language and Imagery in the song entitled “It Will Rain”

Line	Data	Figurative Language	Imagery
2	Leave some morphine at my door	metonymy	Organic
3	Cause it would take a whole lot of medication	hyperbole	Organic
6	There’s no religion that could save me	metaphor	Organic
7	No matter how long my knees are on the floor	metonymy	Kinesthetic
10	Will keep you from walking out the door	metonymy	Visual
11	Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby	hyperbole	Visual
12	There’ll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby	hyperbole	Visual
13	Just like the clouds my eyes will do the same	simile	Visual
14	If you walk away, every day it will rain, rain, rain	repetition	Visual
16	Your daddy can’t even look at me	metonymy	Visual
24	I’ll pick up these broken pieces till I’m bleeding	allegory	Visual

 

4.2 Discussion

 

4.2.1 Kinds of Figurative Language Found in the Songs’ Lyrics

This subchapter aims to analyze the figurative language and imagery found in two songs, entitled “Talking to the Moon” and “It Will Rain”, from Bruno Mars’ album.

 

Hyperbole

a) “My neighbors think I’m crazy.” (Line 5: “Talking to the Moon”)

This figurative language explains that he is not crazy, but he only feels lonely.

b) “Cause it would take a whole lot of medication.” (Line 3: “It Will Rain”)

In this lyric the songwriters explained he will get sick if she leaves.

c) “Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby.” (Line 11: “It Will Rain”)

This statement is overstatement. Statement said that there’ll be no sunlight whereas there will always be sun.

d) “There’ll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby.” (Line 12: “It Will Rain”)

This is also overstatement, there’ll be no clear skies whereas there will always be a bright.

 

Personification

a) At night when the stars light up my room. (Line 9: “Talking to the Moon”)

This personification means the stars as if the lamp though, which illuminates the room.

b) Talking to the moon. (Line 11: “Talking to the Moon”)

The personification in this sentence means the moon is described as someone who can speak.

c) “Leave some morpheme at my door.” (Line 2: “It Will Rain”)

The personification in this sentence means morphine here as if it were going to live at the door.

 

Euphemism

a) “Or am I a fool.” (Line 15: “Talking to the Moon”)

The phrase “a fool” in that sentence means “crazy”.

b) “I’ve gone mad.” (Line 21: “Talking to the Moon”)

The phrase “gone mad” is only a replacement word for the word “crazy”.

Simile

a) “I’m feeling like I’m famous.”  (Line 18: “Talking to the Moon”)

This simile explains that he seemed to be a famous person because many people talking about him.

b) “Just like the clouds my eyes will do the same.” (Line 13: “It Will Rain”)

The simile in this sentence means his feelings will do the same thing.

 

Metaphor

a) “Cause when the sun goes down.”  (Line 23: “Talking to the Moon”)

The songwriter tried to describe that he had to talk.

 

b) “There’s no religion could save me.” (Line 6: “It Will Rain”)

 This metaphor reveals that nothing could save life even religion.

 

c) “Walking with that troublesome guy.” (Line 20: “It Will Rain”)

Metaphor can be found is this lyric which means comparison if troublesome guy is that person.

 

Repetition

The sentence “If you walk away, every day it will rain, rain, rain” (Line 14: “It Will Rain”) includes repetition because in that sentence the word ‘rain’ is repeated for three times.

 

4.2.2 Types of Imagery Found in the Songs’ Lyrics

1. Organic Imagery

a) “My neighbors think I’m crazy”. (Line 5: “Talking to the Moon”)

The word “crazy” in this sentence is an expression of feelings.

 

b) “Or am I a fool”. (Line 15: “Talking to the Moon”)

The word “fool” is one of organic imagery because it represents the sense of inner.

 

c) “I’ve gone mad.”  (Line 18: “Talking to the Moon”)

The phrase “gone mad” in this sentence means “crazy”. The imagery represents emotions.

 

d. “Cause it would take a whole lot of medication.” (Line 3: “It Will Rain”)

The word “medication” is categorized into organic imagery because it expresses the feeling of his heart.

 

2. Visual Imagery

a) “At night when the stars light up my room.”  (Line 9: “Talking to the Moon”)

The word “stars” is categorized as visual imagery because it is a sense of sight.

 

b) “Cause when the sun goes down.”  (Line 23: “Talking to the Moon”)

The word “sun” represents the thing that can be seen.

 

c) “Will keep you from walking out the door.” (Line 10: “It Will Rain”)

 The word “door” is categorized into visual imagery.

 

d) “Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby.” (Line 11: “It Will Rain”)

 The word “sunlight” is visual imagery because a sun can be seen by the sense of sight.

 

e) “There’ll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby.” (Line 12: “It Will Rain”)

The phrase “clear skies” is visual imagery. The songwriter describes that there may be thunder if she goes away.

      

f) “Just like the clouds my eyes will do the same.” (Line 13: “It Will Rain”)

 The word “clouds” included visual imagery that is a description image.

 

g) “If you walk away, every day it will rain, rain, rain.” (Line 14: “It Will Rain”)

 The word “rain” is one of visual imagery because it describes the sense of sight.

 

h) “I’ll pick up these broken pieces till I’m bleeding.”  (Line 24: “It Will Rain”)

The word “bleeding” is visual. It describes his condition or the situation that he is going through.

 

3. Auditory Imagery

The lyric is “Talking to the moon.”  (Line 11: “Talking to the Moon”)

The word “talking” is a sense of hearing because the activity of talking is a part of sound.

 

4. Kinesthetic Imagery

The lyric is “No matter how long my knees are on the floor.” (Line 7: “It Will Rain”)

This lyric is included in kinesthetic imagery. The word “knees” describes a movement done by the knee when he begged her.

 

5.   Conclusion

 

The first song lyric is entitled “Talking to the Moon”. This song is about sadness. It tells about someone’s feelings that he feels so lonely, someone he loved the most is somewhere far away and he wants her back. And when night comes, the only thing who talk with is the moon. He told everything he had through to the moon until people thought he had gone mad. The second song entitled “It Will Rain” is a song that has deep meaning. This song was used as the soundtrack of a film entitled “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”. The music video, directed by Phil Pinto and Mars, prominently features the singer going through different emotions such as love and anger with his lover as they struggle through a break-up. And it talks about a man who loves his woman. The man did not want to lose the woman. This song tells that if the woman left him, he would be very brokenhearted. 

Based on research findings, the writer found some figurative language in Bruno Mars’ selected songs. The most figurative language used in the lyrics of Bruno Mars’ selected songs is “Hyperbole” which is a great exaggeration used to emphasize a point and is used for expression. For example, in lyrics “My neighbors’ think I’m crazy” and “Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby.”, give something exaggerated from the facts. The writer used hyperbole to make the lyrics more interesting to listen. In conclusion, these two songs use many kinds of figurative language and imagery. In literature, a writer uses figurative language as a tool to express and emphasize the elements of feeling, emotion, and experiences of human beings. By using figurative language and imagery, the reader can understand and imagine the aim of the writer.

 

 

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